This indicates an insufficient amount of oxygen in the body. Other signs can include pale gums, rapid heart rate, and flared nostrils. Red blood cells help carry oxygen around the body, so the combination of loss of red cells due to hemolytic anemia, and dysfunctional red cells due to methemoglobinemia cause the constellation of signs that we see in red maple toxicity, including weakness, depression, colic, and laminitis. Another toxin, called pyrogallol, causes methemoglobinemia, which prevents red cells from being able to carry oxygen. Gallic and tannic acid (the same type of toxins that we see in oak) cause destruction of red blood cells, called hemolysis. Red maple contains multiple toxins that cause two different and severe problems with the horse’s red blood cells. Camelids – llamas or alpacas – are also susceptible to red maple toxicity, but ruminants are not. Young horses tend to be more adventurous in what they eat, so they are at higher risk. Horses that cannot eat hay due to old age, bad teeth, or complications such as poor gastric emptying, are at risk because they crave forage and will even eat wood to get it. Luckily, horses tend not to want to eat the dry leaves that fall unless they are not receiving enough hay or other forage. Once the leaves have fallen, they stay toxic for about four weeks. We see most cases of red maple toxicity after late summer and autumn storms take down branches. of hay daily, so eating a small amount of red maple is quite hazardous. Eating about 1.5 pounds can make a horse very sick and ingesting 3 lbs. And in autumn, the red maple turns vivid shades of red, gold, and orange.įresh red maple leaves are not toxic to horses – but wilted or dried leaves and the bark are extremely toxic. Red maples are green in the summer, but their veins and stems are red, and their leaves are jagged, rather than scalloped like the sugar maple. Because it is a pretty tree, many people use it for shade, even in pastures, without knowing they can be highly toxic to horses. They live almost everywhere and tolerate anything from very dry to very wet conditions. The scientific name for red maple is Acer rubrum, but people also call them either swamp, water, or soft maples. Most people can identify a maple tree, but when people hear red maple, they often think of the Japanese maple. They do, and we see multiple cases at Cummings School’s Hospital for Large Animals every year. Q: Can horses die from eating red maple leaves?Ī: The simple answer is yes. As trees shed their leaves this autumn, a Cummings School expert shares the dangers of horses consuming red maple leaves.
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